Page 115 - Encyclopedia Of World History Vol III

934 berkshire encyclopedia of world history

species that apparently evolved from habilines in East toolmaking, they hardened green wood and occasionally
Africa between 1.9 and 1.6 million years ago. Erectines bone or antler in the heat of their hearths. Along with
were more humanlike in their anatomical features and warmth, fire provided light, permitting Homo erectus to
behavior patterns than any of their hominid predeces- lengthen the day.
sors.What made them such a milestone in the biological Erectines learned how to turn animal skins into cloth-
evolution of our kind, however, was their impressive cra- ing, and at least 400,000 years ago started to build
nial capacity.The brain of Homo erectus was not simply substantial, oval-shaped huts. Such attainments, taken
bigger, but it was distinctly less symmetrical, since each together, underscore the extent to which they had be-
part expanded at a different rate and was designed to come dependent on cultural rather than biological adap-
perform specific functions. tations in comparison with their hominid predecessors.
Better control over the hand as well as the unprece- Until roughly a million years ago, the evolution of every
dented ingenuity made possible by an increased brain-to- living thing had unfolded largely in response to chal-
body ratio enabled erectines to become more sophisti- lenges emanating out of the natural environment.Then,
cated toolmakers and to create what paleoanthropoligists uniquely with Homo erectus, shared understandings and
call the Acheulian tradition. Beginning about 1.6 million norms of conduct, painstakingly learned and transmitted
years ago, they gradually learned to devise a more pat- to the next generation, began to override behavior dic-
terned and versatile stone artifact known as the hand tated strictly by genetic inheritance, more and more set-
axe. Erectines discovered how to remove flakes from ting the context for everyday existence.
both sides, or faces, of a shaped stone core, producing Given the size and complexity of their brains, erectines
two straight, sharp edges that converged at a point. Erec- probably became more adept at sharing their thoughts
tines made another important technological innovation through speech. Their nearly human linguistic potential
when they introduced the cleaver, and they turned to enabled them to become active and perhaps even habit-
other materials, such as volcanic rock and flint. No later ual hunters. Coming together in groups to improve their
than a million years ago they possessed a standardized chances for successful expeditions aimed at big game
tool kit containing at least eighteen types of highly effec- strengthened and multiplied the patterns of interde-
tive implements, each proportioned in accordance with pendence between erectines, making their social struc-
its intended purpose. tures more complex, tight-knit, and recognizably human
Nearly 1.5 million years ago, Homo erectus took defi- than any network of relations that may have prevailed
nite steps toward the controlled use of fire, the next great among habilines.They probably took a full million years
cultural advance after the fashioning of stone artifacts. to forge the enduring characteristics of the gathering and
The domestication of fire, for which archeologist have hunting adaptation, a lifeway at once highly flexible and
evidence dating back 400,000 years, gave hominids extraordinarily stable.
their first real command over a powerful force of nature. Homo erectus was the first hominid to spread far
Still unable to ignite a fire on their own initiative, they beyond the African continent. Successive waves of a
nonetheless taught themselves to collect flaming debris grand migration out of Africa may have started a million
from volcanic eruptions and lightning strikes and actively and a half years ago, but the first well-documented
keep it burning in small hearths. Fires provided warmth expansion into the frost-free zones of Eurasia occurred
as well as protection against dangerous animals. Erec- about 500,000 years later. Erectines funneled through
tines may have intermittently exploited fire for cooking as the Near East, fanning out into southern Asia, where they
early as 700,000 years ago. As opportunities arose, they encountered woodlands and savanna environments sim-
certainly drove game in a desired direction and opened ilar to those they had left behind. They simultaneously
up their hunting grounds with fire. Drawing on it in their moved westward into parts of Europe without ever estab-